Marines in Afghanistan take part in breast cancer 5K

SAN DIEGO — It isn’t much of a stretch to think that most of the pink-clad revelers at a Mira Mesa pub Saturday had little in common with the Marines in Afghanistan, but on Sunday they’ll share both a mission and a message.

Hours before an estimated 15,000 runners and walkers lace up their shoes for the 16th annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Balboa Park, more than 550 Marines at Camp Leatherneck in Helmand Province will do the same to raise money and awareness for breast cancer treatment and research.

Technically, the two races will happen on the same day — just with a 15-hour time difference.

Gunnery Sgt. Allan Anderson, a 28-year-old Camp Pendleton Marine now serving in Afghanistan, said he got the idea to organize a run at Camp Leatherneck in April when he took part in another Komen-related event at the base.

He decided he wanted to do something similar to benefit San Diego County residents. Initially, he had hoped to recruit 50 runners and raise about $1,250. But by Thursday, more than 550 men and women had signed up for the race, making Camp Leatherneck’s team the largest linked to the San Diego event.

The Marines raised more than $18,000.

“We do not get a lot of spare time, but it really is about something greater than ourselves,” Anderson wrote in an email. “I never would have imagined that back in June, our little run would have grown as much as it has today.”

On Saturday, several dozen staffers and volunteers from the local Susan G. Komen organization, as well as many registered runners, gathered at Callahan’s Pub and Brewery on Mira Mesa Boulevard to celebrate the Marines’ efforts and to gear up for their own 5K race. Anderson and two fellow Marines who organized the race in Afghanistan were featured in a short video.

One was Sgt. Irma Rosales, whose aunt, a breast cancer survivor, shared a few words of encouragement with the crowd.

“I’m a survivor!” shouted Ana Ornelas, 44, of Norwalk, Calif.

Moments before she addressed the group, Ornelas admitted she was “freaked out” about the prospect of public speaking, but couldn’t say no to her niece’s request. And she had good news to share: she finished her last radiation treatment in September and was given a clean bill of health.